Unlike the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple isn’t selling the iPhone XR SIM-free in the USA. You must choose a carrier for buying an iPhone XR in the US, but if you’re paying in full with a one-time payment option, your iPhone XR will come as unlocked and with a SIM card of the chosen carrier.

An unlocked iPhone has always meant one thing only — no carrier ties. So if even if the iPhone XR ships with a SIM card when paid in full, you’re still getting an unlocked iPhone XR which is free to activate with any carrier’s SIM card.

Now the question comes, will an unlocked iPhone XR work in other countries OR it’ll only work on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon? Thanks to one user over at Apple Community forums who ordered an iPhone XR with Verizon SIM and paid in full without choosing carrier financing. The user put his Straight Talk SIM inside the iPhone XR before turning it on right out-of-the-box. It worked like any other unlocked iPhone.

I think it’s safe to say that the unlocked policy remains the same for iPhone XR as for other unlocked iPhones as long as you’re paying the full amount and choosing carrier financing.

If a Straight Talk SIM can be used to activate an unlocked iPhone XR purchased with Verizon SIM, we believe the device can be activated in other countries too. But you need to make sure that the LTE bands supported by the US variant of iPhone XR are supported in your country too.

Before using the new iPhone, you are recommended to view the verification report using 3uTools.